The association of snoring and risk of obstructive sleep apnea with poor academic performance among university students

Abstract

Study objectives: Subjects with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have neurocognitive dysfunction. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of symptoms and risk of OSA among university students and the association with academic performance.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted at Jordan University of Science and Technology. Students from faculties of engineering, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and dentistry were asked to participate in this study. The Berlin Sleep Questionnaire was used to report symptoms and risk of OSA. Below average cumulative scores were considered poor academic performance.

Results: A total of 777 students (51% female; mean age, 20 years) completed the study questionnaire. According to the study definition, 42 students (5.4%) had high risk for OSA. Snoring was reported by 11% and daytime sleepiness and fatigue by 30%. Compared to female students, male students had more snoring (14.6 vs. 7.6%, p = 0.002) and higher risk for OSA (6.5 vs. 1.6%, p = 0.001). Both self-reported snoring and being at high risk for OSA were associated with poor academic performance (27.9 vs. 11.6% and 23.1 vs. 9.2%, respectively; p < 0.02). After adjusting for confounding factors, the odds ratio of having poor academic performance in students at high risk for OSA was 2.4 (CI 1.11-5.2, p = 0.027).

Conclusions: Snoring and OSA were uncommon among university students. However, both were more common among male students and were associated with poor academic performance.

Keywords: Academic performance; College students; Obstructive sleep apnea; Sleepiness; Snoring; University students.